Citizens Academy favorite: Law Enforcement Center

Jessica Haynes jhaynes@mdn.net

Updated 9:45 am, Wednesday, February 24, 2016

From SWAT trucks to drug-testing kits and the Midland Police Department’s newest K9 officer, it was no surprise that last week’s trip to the Law Enforcement Center was a favorite for members of the Midland Citizens Academy.

City Attorney Jim Branson introduced himself, and said he has worked about 25 years in his department, and many people still aren’t aware of his responsibilities and duties.

“It’s a separation of power,” Branson said, describing his job to represent the city in legal matters that otherwise may cause a conflict of interest for other city officials or outside representation.

He is also responsible for visiting new board and commission members and taking them through proper parliamentary procedure: how to act in an official capacity and the laws behind public meetings.

“I believe it made it much more accessible and better for the people who are out there,” Branson said.

Branson joked that his office does not provide legal assistance to residents, but still receives plenty of confused calls. Those contacts are based on a variety of topics, ranging from mini pigs to hunting in the city and even from people who believe the city attorney represents residents in court.

Here are a few things the City Attorney’s Office is responsible for:

• Representing the city in all kinds of court cases, including tribunal and federal courts. Branson regularly appears in court as the city’s agent for civil infractions, traffic violations and misdemeanor and ordinance cases.

• Responding to Freedom of Information Act requests. In 2015, Branson was sent 524 FOIA requests.

• Inspecting and receiving contracts, deeds, easements and small damage and insurance claims.

• Organizing the collection of fees for overdue library books, emergency response services, delinquent personal property taxes and parking tickets. To date, the city has collected more than $1.5 million from collection services. “The point isn’t to make money, it’s to have compliance,” Branson said. “We’re not perfect but we’re sure giving it a good try.”

• There are about 900 active court files the City Attorney’s Office is currently handling.

As director of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Carol Stone knows what is going on across all the buildings and departments that make up the city of Midland. She is in charge of recruitment and hiring, employee health programs and benefits administration.

Did you know that public safety personnel are not allowed to strike, and do not typically participate in Social Security? It is a part of Stone’s job to know information like that and assist the city in pension programs for public employees.

While Stone shared her concerns about the current unfunded liability of those pensions, she told academy participants that Midland has a very low turnover and is focused on the well-being of its employees, both during and after employment.

The class was then turned over to Police Chief Cliff Block, dressed in his best uniform and ready to show the academy what the Midland Police Department is all about. He has been with the city since 1993, when he began his employment as a patrol officer.

“This is your police department; we work for you,” Block said to the academy participants.

That statement is backed up by the department’s core values: integrity, professionalism and service to community, which “are out there everywhere, they mean that much to us,” Block said.

One of the first questions he was asked was about ticket quotas. Block shook his head and said things like that do not exist, and that the police department does not make any money or profit from writing residents tickets for traffic violations. He noted:

• Personnel of the Midland Police Department clocked in about 9,000 hours of training throughout 2015. There are 48 sworn-in employees of this department.

• Police officers responded to 15,584 service calls during the fiscal year of 2014-15. This figure does not include calls from the Midland County Sheriff’s Office. There were two fatal traffic crashes during that time: “Two is too many,” Block said.

• Midland was designated as one of America’s Safest Cities in 2014, an award that Block remains proud of.

When asked about the addition of roundabouts in and around Midland, Block commented on how the nature and factors of the traffic crashes have changed and the intersection at Patrick Road and Business U.S.-10 has greatly improved.

“My thoughts are it’s keeping people safe,” Block said.

One worry on his mind is a recent increase in driving under the influence cases, Block said. The police department is currently reviewing strategies to keep this number in check, and he added that texting while driving is another issue.

Some help has been provided through Midland’s newest K9 officer, Tza’yid, who greeted class members along with his human counterpart, Officer Dubois.

“These dogs are incredible readers,” said Dubois, commenting on how a K9 officer can read the moods of officers and be alert to the moods of residents they interact with, whether good or bad.

After that, the academy was split into two groups to tour the Law Enforcement Center. Did anyone else know this property used to be an indoor mall? Our tour guide, Lt. Matthew Berchert, told the group you could still see the little shop opening where The Cobbler’s Bench used to operate.

The Law Enforcement Center went through an extensive remodel when it was sold to the city for public safety use, with multiple hallways joining departments together that are secured to only allow permitted employees through.

Berchert led us through the administrative offices, into a briefing room and the juvenile holding area, to our first surprise: a visit to the Midland SWAT Team’s vehicle. At 5’2”, I had to use some serious muscle to struggle into the back compartment but luckily, I was allowed to exit after SWAT Officer Mahabir took us through some quick facts on the team’s training.

Did you know the SWAT team has 10 members, two of whom are snipers? All SWAT officers are required to pass physical and psychological tests, carry an extra 45 pounds of armor versus a patrol officer, and sometimes use 250-pound ballistic shields on top of that. Could you imagine? I could barely lift the bulletproof vest Block handed around earlier that night.

We then made our way over to the impressive setup of Midland County Central Dispatch, where large screens show color-coded shapes of different patrol vehicles out keeping the community safe. We learned that some cell providers provide better signals that can be located faster.

One of my favorite aspects of last week’s class was meeting Detective Lt. Hurd and seeing the forensic lab and equipment used to evaluate and store evidence. Hurd showed us how magnetic shavings can be used to uncover fingerprints, and how specific drugs can be tested on the scene with little plastic packets with testing solution inside.

At this point, it was going on 10:30 p.m. and it was clear the tour was coming to an end. We had a chance to hold some of the regular patrol weapons Midland police carry on them and in their vehicle on a daily basis, checked out the SWAT training room and even caught a surprising odor in the basement of the Law Enforcement Center.

“That funny smell you are smelling? That’s marijuana,” Berchert said as he walked us past a series of evidence lockers, some as tiny as a shoebox and others large enough to fit big evidence like televisions.

One last thing before we left: Berchert made sure to take us through the “History Hallway,” as he calls it, a long space filled with pictures of every officer sworn in by the police department. He pointed out tiny ribbons attached to those who died, but pointed out none have been lost in the line of duty.

It was time to head home and think about everything I had learned, but my only thought as I walked out to my car was that I was glad. I was glad I was raised in a place where police officers walk with students to school and know them by name, and glad to continue to work in a community that puts such a high value on public safety.

Jessica Haynes plans to continue sharing these little-known facts with Daily News readers in a weekly column during the Citizens Academy, and welcomes readers to share their perspective of living or growing up in Midland by emailing her at jhaynes@mdn.net or engaging with her on Twitter @citizenhaynes. She is also on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1PBfBga.